The way higher education understands and measures campus climate just changed. The Viewfinder® National Campus Climate Dashboards (NCCDs) are now live, offering college and university leaders the most comprehensive look yet at how students, faculty, and staff experience campus life across the United States.
Drawing on data from nearly 150 colleges and universities, the dashboards aggregate responses from more than 120,000 students and 90,000 employees, forming the largest campus climate database in the nation. The result is a dynamic, interactive tool that enables institutions to benchmark, compare, and analyze how community members feel about belonging, inclusion, safety, and satisfaction—all in one place.
From Data to Direction
The dashboards provide national survey data collected through the Viewfinder® Campus Climate Surveys between 2017 and 2025. Users can filter responses by demographics, role, institution type, or geographic region, making it possible to pinpoint trends and identify disparities across a range of contexts. Whether you’re focused on strategic planning, retention, or culture-building, the NCCD helps leaders turn raw data into informed, actionable decisions.
With a few clicks, users can:
- Benchmark their institution’s results against peer norms across key indices.
- Drill down by role, identity, or institutional characteristics to uncover patterns.
- Visualize trends and hotspots with clear, interactive charts.
- Export customized reports instantly for presentations, meetings, and research.
In short, the dashboards transform what was once scattered feedback into a powerful foundation for understanding and improvement.
The Stories Behind the Numbers
While the NCCD offers a panoramic view of campus life, the data also reveal distinct, urgent themes shaping higher education today.
Belonging and Community: Nationally, just over half of students report a strong sense of belonging, but the percentage drops sharply among students from underrepresented or marginalized groups. These disparities highlight the ongoing need for targeted inclusion efforts.
Antisemitism and Safety: According to Anti-Semitism and the Campus Climate: Findings on Jewish Student Experiences, Jewish students consistently report lower levels of comfort and safety than peers of other faiths—a reminder that combating antisemitism must remain a priority within campus climate work.
Employee Discontent: Another report, Drivers of Employee Discontent in Higher Education, points to compensation, workload, and inequitable promotion practices as key factors eroding trust and morale among faculty and staff nationwide.
Political Climate and Expression: Data from Contrasting Perceptions of Political Expression reveal that conservative students and employees feel significantly less comfortable expressing their views compared to liberal peers, emphasizing how political identity influences campus climate.
Intersectionality Challenges: Findings from When Identities Overlap on Campus show that students with multiple marginalized identities—such as race, disability, and economic status—report the lowest levels of belonging and safety. These insights underscore the layered nature of identity and the need for policies that address intersectional experiences.
Free Access for Higher Education Professionals
The Viewfinder® National Campus Climate Dashboards are free to use for verified higher education professionals. Accessing the data is simple: enter your institutional email to receive a secure link and begin exploring within minutes. All data are available for educational use, and personal information is never shared.
Moving from Awareness to Action
In a time when higher education faces growing scrutiny over belonging, retention, and institutional trust, the NCCDs provide clarity when it’s needed most. With these tools, higher education leaders can go beyond anecdotes and assumptions, grounding every conversation about campus climate in concrete, comparative data that drives meaningful progress. By distilling the voices of more than 200,000 campus community members into accessible insights, the dashboards empower leaders to benchmark progress, identify inequities, and guide change with confidence.
Explore the Viewfinder® National Campus Climate Dashboards today—and see how data can help transform your campus culture from awareness to action.
